STORY

On August 4, 2007 six-year-old Wesley Mullins was playing at his grandfathers house in downtown Paris, Kentucky; it started out like a typical day for any child, but ended in unspeakable tragedy.  By days end, Wesley had been assaulted and brutally beaten to death in his grandfather’s garage.  The accused, the grandfather’s roommate, currently awaits trial for the horrific act.  

After the tragic loss of Wesley, one anonymous Paris citizen took it upon herself to make a change within the community.  Her goal was to somehow find some sense, and possibly some way, to preserve the memory of Wesley and in turn help the family, friends, and community start a healing process. 

“It is impossible to say that what happened makes sense or was anything less than unthinkable, we can only hope that somehow we can keep his memory and name alive and use it to spread hope, happiness, and love to the community in which he lived.”

In December 2007 the Mullins family placed the property located at 1406 S. Main Street, the location of the Wesley’s death, on the market for sale.  The anonymous donor contacted the family regarding the purchase of the property.  At the time, the use of the property after purchase was unknown but they were told the buildings on the property would be torn down and that a project dedicated to Wesley’s memory would be put on the property.  The Mullins family was overwhelmed and in full support of the project.

“This person is an angel, that’s the only way to describe her.  We were at a loss of what to do with the property.  The family members could no longer live in the home but could not afford to tear the place down.  We can’t begin to describe the gratitude we feel.  The entire Paris community has been incredible.” 

 
Around this time Mark Williams, who is a friend of the donor, was contacted to assist in finding the best use of the property.  Several non-profit organizations were explored.  The original thought was to simply donate the land to a non-profit organization.  But, after much consideration, it was decided that this would not serve the memory of Wesley.  The plan then turned to exploring the possibility of building a community facility in Wesley’s honor.

Due to the size of the property it became clear that more land would be required to build a functional facility.  We investigated purchasing two neighboring properties in January of 2008; 1408 and 1412 S. Main Street.  Contracts were written on 1406 and 1408 in March of 2008 and the donor purchased all three properties on May 1, 2008.  Purchasing three properties allowed the usable tract of land to be sufficient in size to build a much larger and functional facility.

Wesley’s Place, Incorporated then filed in May of 2008 and received 501 (c) 3 Non-Profit status on December 1st of 2008

The organizations sub-mission is to create a wonderful office complex that can provide free space to other non-profit organizations that will serve the community of Paris and Bourbon County.  Currently, we have several organizations under consideration for using the space, but we are still open to organization inquiries. 

We have had incredible community support behind this project. The overall project is estimated at $500,000. The original anonymous donor has provided funding to purchase the land and establish the organization in the amount of $162,000.  We have received over $120,000 in cash donations through local individuals, businesses and fund raising.  Volunteer labor and donated/discounted materials will save us $140,000. Currently, we are receiving materials at a discounted rate running approximately 50% of cost and volunteer labor at a rate of 60% of cost. It is our goal to receive an additional $80,000 to complete the building.  95% of all funds are used for the construction of the building and 5% are reserved for administrative and legal fees.

Thank you for your support.

More information- View Wesley's Place Video Story Here.